In an unprecedented partnership of business, civic, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta amassed a coalition of support to preserve and create 6,000 homeowners of color in Atlanta. Its focus is two-fold:

1. Create affordable homes for people historically precluded from homeownership

2. Reduce the significant racial wealth gap

The Community Foundation, working closely with the City of Atlanta and dozens of nonprofits that support the region's housing sector, has sought solutions for expanded homeownership for communities of color for many years, leading to this coalition of support and funding.

A multimillion-dollar grant opportunity from the Wells Fargo Foundation helped galvanize coalition partners. The $7.5 million donation to the Atlanta coalition comes from Wells Fargo's Wealth Opportunities Restored through Homeownership (WORTH) initiative, a $60 million national effort to help create 40,000 new homeowners of color by the end of 2025. Atlanta is one of eight markets across the U.S. to receive a WORTH grant. It was awarded to the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, which will lead the new Atlanta collaborative.

"Momentum has been building for housing solutions in metro Atlanta for years, and once collaborative partners were asked to put pen to paper and make a financial or in-kind commitment, our region really rose to the challenge," said Frank Fernandez, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. "We have now turned intent into action, with a clear plan, a timeline, and a transparent commitment to drive change. Transforming a $7.5 million Wells Fargo funding opportunity into more than $220 million in leverage is, to say the least, a proof point of our partners' passion for housing equity throughout the region."

Fernandez continued, "The collaborative partners spent two months actively working together to build the winning grant application, which involved amassing the $220 million in combined capital, philanthropic grants, concessionary debt and in-kind services. Through these four channels, approximately $146 million is committed capital focused on homeownership. Of the $146 million, half is low cost, concessionary debt and the other half is philanthropic grant dollars and a plethora of in-kind services. The remaining $74 million is philanthropic dollars that can be garnered as we produce results on the first $146 million. What's great for Atlanta with this collaborative group is that the leverage brings these dollars together in a coordinated way to have greater impact and unlocks philanthropic dollars that otherwise may have been unavailable because of the sheer volume of the teaming."